A Tangible Reminderby Mary Byers
Last year I read Me, Myself, & Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables by Phil Vischer, creator of the Veggie Tales video series. I was interested because my children grew up on Veggie Tales. But I was also interested because somewhere along the way I noticed Phil Vischer was no longer with Big Idea, the company he founded. I knew there must be a story there, so I picked up the book.
Though millions of children can sing the Veggie Tales theme song, Big Idea no longer exists. After expanding too quickly, the company was forced into bankruptcy. Vischer writes about the experience in his book, which is part memoir and part business tutorial. And it's a touching example of how one man encountered grit and allowed it to be turned into grace.
At the end of the book, Vischer outlines the lessons he learned from the rise and fall of Big Idea. In part, he shares, "I was ready to be done, if that's what God wanted. To just rest in him and let everything else fall away. At long last, after a lifetime of striving, God was enough. Not God and impact or God and ministry. Just God."
His words convicted me. As an author and speaker, I realized that I'm often more focused on my deadlines or my next speaking engagement than I am on God. I have it backwards. God first, then everything else will fall into place.
It's a powerful message for us as women, too. When we focus on God first, we'll have everything we need to handle whatever is happening in our families and our lives. As Vischer reminds us, God is enough. As we approach Christmas, I'm reminded that this is the time when God shared his Son with us-a tangible reminder of his love for us. And a reminder that when we have him, we have everything we need.
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Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. She offers advice and encouragement for moms work from home for profit at www.makingworkathomework.com.
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I had no idea about Big Idea! But what a great lesson he learned and can now pass on to others. I am married to a pastor and several times in his ministry he's had to step back and refocus and get his priorities straight. Thanks for that reminder this Christmas season!
ReplyDeleteI had not heard about this either! Interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt is sooo true that failures help us grow! They help us grow close to God, to start fresh, and on and on! That is one of the Big problems in our country right now is that people are not allowed to fail! Sad.
Thanks for sharing this! Another great thing to think about!
God bless!
Just recently, I was imagining winning the Lottery. I sat down and wrote it all down what I would do with the money. When I thought about my darling 10 year old daughter,my thoughts were that she would never have to worry about anything the rest of her life, and it occurred to me, that I do not want that for her. As a single mom it is a struggle for me, and Yes I want money to pay bills and help others, but I also want my daughter to learn that Life is not easy, and I want her to go thru the hard knocks, and the turns, because this is where we learn and grow and mature. I imagined her having everything, and it occured to me that if she had it all, would she feel she didn't need GOD? As I was praying about this to the LORD, he told me, that the Kings and Prophets in the bible were blessed by him, and they did have it all with no worries for what we worry for, and they spent thier time Praising HIM and Worshiping HIM. Which occured to me, is this NOT what we are supposed to be doing NOW? For some reason this story made me think of this.
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